Democrats earned their first significant 2017 political win by leveling unsubstantiated sexual misconduct allegations at candidate Roy Moore, and they are just getting started.
Although the former Alabama judge was a flawed candidate that neither congressional GOP leadership nor the president endorsed, he was expected to win in a landslide over the left-leaning Doug Jones. A series of sexual misconduct allegations turned the Red state a faint shade of Blue for the time being. National Democrats are certainly taking notice that even baseless claims by women can have a vote-altering impact.
Considering that the money trail for the Fusion GPS dossier has been traced back to the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton, Americans can expect an avalanche of McCarthy-like sex allegations in the roll up to the 2018 elections.
What Are McCarthy-Era Tactics?
Sen. John McCarthy used the so-called Communist “Red Scare” of the 1940s and 1950s to a political advantage that would make Machiavelli proud. Once he gained national notoriety, McCarthy emerged as chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations. The gloves were off and he had the political clout to go after anyone.
In a series of private and open congressional hearings, McCarthy hauled in hundreds of “witnesses.” His intimidation tactics included incarceration threats and public exposure. His nifty trick was that he often had zero proof that an American citizen was in cahoots with the Commies. Finger pointing by Sen. McCarthy meant immediate blacklisting, loss of employment and a ruined career.
When the nation finally grew tired of the McCarthy-era witch hunts, no convictions for Communist subversion were gained. But the damage was done in two primary ways that mirror today’s widespread sexual misconduct allegations: people were guilty unless proven innocent, and no proof was Required.
Political Careers Ruined By Unsubstantiated Sex Claims
Roy Moore has emerged as the poster child for opposition research against Republicans. Despite one woman’s proof claim that Moore signed her yearbook being at least partially untrue, the sexual mudslinging worked. Compounding this McCarthy-era allegation is the problem that the accused can be tasked with proving their innocence in the public arena.
Conservative Texas Sen. Ted Cruz publicly called upon Moore to either prove the claims against him were false, or drop out of the race. As any lawyer will tell you, proving a negative is nearly impossible. Given these sexual misconduct acts were said to have occurred 30 years ago, it’s not as if a wealth of evidence exists about where Moore or the accusers were at the time.
The Democrat-loving folks at The New Yorker went as far as to claim Moore was banned from a mall for accosting teenage girls. Barnes Boyle, the former Gadsden Mall manager, denied this assertion. The former Mobile County Republican Party chairman, John Skipper, went on the record saying the allegations against Moore were “total contrived media garbage.” Despite numerous defenders, it took hold in the national mindset that the Conservative icon was at least a letch. This tactic mirrors the kind of tactics that McCarthy used to ruin the lives of innocent Americans more than 60 years ago.
Who’s Next?
Widely dubbed Fake News and “really Fake News” by Pres. Trump, CNN has already started rolling out “articles” about the next potential “Alabama” congressional race.
Although the organization has framed its op-eds in terms of GOP leadership, Pres. Trump and political disconnect, it comes across as a cry that states such as Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Nebraska and Mississippi may be in play for Democrats if the temperature is right. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to read between the lines. Alabama was decided over sex allegations, nothing more, nothing less. The left-leaning media appears fully onboard for a sexy new age of McCarthyism.
Democratic leadership were relatively quick to call for Al Franken and John Conyers to resign for groping and other sexual misconduct allegations. Franken was busted via a photograph, and the claims against Conyers were backed by Democratic aids. Unlike when Pres. Clinton was accused, this time they made the party members sacrificial lambs. However, the DNC makes considerable gains at no expense to their congressional seats.
Both Franken and Conyers will be swapped out for other Dems, and their removal helps the left keep those blue seats blue. This bit of housekeeping provides Dems with a credible-seeming women’s rights platform. National Dems can continue to lob groping allegations against the president and the biased media will certainly help connect Trump endorsements to sexual misconduct.
After an epic fail in 2017, the Democrats finally have a political tool to exploit. Hold on to your seat, 2018 is likely to be raw with graphic sex scandals.
~ Liberty Planet
